Changing Playback Speed

Creating sped-up or slow-motion imagery used to involve changing a camera's shutter speed (the faster the film moved, the more individual pictures could be shot, creating slow motion, for example). In iMovie, all you have to do is move a slider.

To speed up or slow down video:

1. Select the clip you wish to alter in the Timeline Viewer.

2. Move the Clip Speed slider toward the rabbit icon (to speed up) or the turtle icon (to slow down). The clip contracts or expands in the Timeline to indicate its new duration as you move the slider (Figure 8.22).

   Figure 8.22. As you increase the Clip Speed slider, the clip shrinks to indicate how much time it occupies.

   

iMovie's Clip Speed slider can make a clip five times faster or five times slower than the original speed. If you need a clip that's faster or slower than that, follow these steps.

To make clips super fast or super slow:

1. Speed up or slow down the footage in your movie as described above.

2. Export the footage to your camera's tape or to a QuickTime file (see Chapter 15).

3. Re-import that footage into iMovie. Since it's regular footage now, iMovie considers its speed to be normal.

4. Use the Clip Speed slider to change the speed of the new clip (Figure 8.23).

   Figure 8.23. This clip has been sped up, exported to tape, re-imported into iMovie, and sped up again. You've never seen me set up a tent so fast!

   

Tips

• You can also simply click a portion of the slider's scale to adjust the speed, instead of moving the slider knob.

• Changing clip speed is especially helpful on clips of scenery or backgrounds. Draw out scenes you shot too quickly, or speed up long pans to improve pacing.